One Step At A Time
by HipsterMaybe
Summary: A bit of a long one-shot Mitch and I wrote together. Basically, Danny is in a car accident and the team must deal with the aftermath. Sorry for the horrible summary! ***I (Mitch), messed up on one of the medical parts of it. It has to do with the brain. If you catch it, sorry! If you don't, don't sweat it!


**So, I'm going to update Nalowale Kane soon, probably today since I don't have to work. I have to do some research for this part, so while I wait for the email from a friend of mine who's an expert on the subject, I'll write this. Not sure what it is yet, but here goes! Mitch is helping me write this, so I pretty confident it's going to be good! This takes place a while ago in the series. So, I'm not sure if she'll show up, but Malia's alive, Kono's not in China, Gabby is not here, Grace is still fairly young…all that good stuff. Not an exact timeline. **

"Yes, Steven. I'll be there shortly. I'm at the lights right before HQ." Danny grouched lightheartedly into his phone. He was stopped at the fifth red light this morning.

"_Alright. Hey, are you still able to come help me with the Marquis this weekend?_"

"Wait…are you actually admitting that you need help?" Danny asked, in mock surprise.

"_Haha, very funny. Yes, Daniel. I realize that you know more about classic cars so, for once I shall defer to you._"

"I'm honored." Danny deadpanned. Just as the light turned green, the car in front of him swerved, then came to a jerky stop. Steve laughed through the phone and started to ask another question, but Danny cut him off.

"Hold on a sec, Steve. There's a car stopped ahead of me. I'm gonna see if they need help." He missed Steve's reply as he set down his phone, turned on his lights, and exited the vehicle. "Need some help, ma'am?" Danny asked the woman, who was now inspecting her back left tire with an anxious expression. Her stereotypical soccer mom van, complete a 'my kid's an honor student' bumper sticker, and the young faces peering out of the back seat told Danny all he needed to know, but she explained anyway.

"My tire just blew out! I need to get my kids to school, but I have absolutely no idea how to change a tire. My husband always did it for me. Before he got deployed, he always said I should learn, but there was never time!" The woman looked close to crying, so Danny smiled at her kids, grabbed some tools from the Camaro, and returned to the van.

"Well, it just so happens that I am an expert in changing tires. If you'll just have your kids get out, I can jack her up and change this real quick." Danny offered kindly.

"Thank you! Oh my God, thank you so much!" the woman exclaimed. As she let her kids out, Danny hoisted the car up on the jack and within a few minutes, had replaced her tire. She thanked him again profusely, and he even received a hug from her two children before she drove off. Smiling at the sense of satisfaction helping her had given him, he put his tools back in the trunk and slid back behind the wheel. He heard humming coming from his phone and laughed.

"I'm back now Steven, you cans top with the elevator music." Steve chuckled.

"_What was the hold up, partner?_"

"Soccer mom with a flat tire."

"_And let me guess. It was Danno to the rescue_?"

"Well, I couldn't just-" his reply was cut off as there was a sudden, massive jolt from behind and his world went black.

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"And let me guess. It was Danno to the rescue?" Steve joked.

"_Well I couldn't just-_" the sound of crunching metal blasted through the speaker. Steve's eyes widened in horror as his brain put two and two together.

"No…" he breathed. "Danny? Danny!" but there was no reply. At the sound of Steve's shouts, Chin and Kono came rushing out of his office.

"Steve, what's going on?" Kono asked

"I think Danny's been in an accident. He said he was at the lights closest to here." Steve answered, already running out to his truck. Chin and Kono slid in beside him and they tore off towards the intersection in question, lights blazing, sirens blaring. They arrived in less than a minute. Seeing the crunched black body of the Camaro was enough to have them sprinting for the car. The sound of a horn was continuous. Belatedly, Steve realized it was coming from the Camaro itself. His heart sped up when he saw the bloody spider web on the windshield. It angered him that no one had rushed forward to check on the injured drivers.

"Go check on Danny, I've got the other guy." Chin yelled, running for the car that had struck Danny's. Kono held the crowd back, casting nervous glances back towards the mangled Camaro. As Steve got closer, he could see the damage. The impact had come from behind, but had not hit the Camaro straight, sending it crashing into a light pole and crushing it from both ends. He ran to Danny's side of the car and, seeing the window almost completely gone, peered in. Danny was slumped over the wheel, his head resting on the horn. Steve could tell Danny had not been wearing his seatbelt, making his injuries all the more serious. He had only just re-entered his car and probably hadn't had time to buckle up. Beneath the millions of tiny shards of glass and airbag dust, Steve could see blood running in rivulets down Danny's face and arms. On the floor, a cracked IPhone was still on a call. Chin stuttered to a halt next to Steve, taking in the horrific sight before him.

"Oh God…"

"I don't know how to help him." Steve whispered helplessly. "The other driver?" Chin shook his head.

"Asleep." He spat out angrily. "Passed out drunk behind the wheel, yet still managed to hold on to his beer. He's going to walk away with a nosebleed." Steve felt anger swell in his heart. His friend may be dead because someone just had to have their booze? The thought struck Steve. He had to know. Carefully, he reached in and placed two fingers against Danny's throat, exhaling in relief when he found a beat, albeit a weak one. He now registered the sound of fast approaching sirens. Steve knew that if this was not done right, Danny could be killed, or at the very least paralyzed…_if he isn't already_. Steve though anxiously. Why couldn't Danny have just gotten shot or something? He knew it sounded awful, but that he could treat. Right now, all he could do was wait and watch as his partner possibly died of a brain bleed. It felt like days before the paramedics surged towards the car, firemen close behind, but in actuality it had been less than a minute. When it became clear that the paramedics couldn't evaluate him whilst he was still in the crushed vehicle, the firemen pried open the crushed door. Quickly, Danny was placed in a cervical collar, ceasing the blaring horn. Then, Steve watched as, with infinite care, they gently extracted Danny from the wreckage of the Camaro. As he was laid down on a backboard and Steve saw his face for the first time, he resisted the urge to throw up. He knew head wounds bled a lot, but this was too much. Cuts and bruises covered his skin, but the worst of the lot was on the left side of his forehead where he had struck the windshield. A long, heavily bleeding gash ran from hairline to cheek. A dark bruise stretched over the entire left side of his face. Weak vitals were read off, IVs were inserted, and an oxygen mask was fit over Danny's face before they loaded him into the ambulance. Before Steve could bully his way in, it took off. Not missing a beat, he jumped into his truck and they raced after the ambulance.

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If the circumstances had been different, Steve would have been contemplating his jealously for Danny as he held a sleeping Grace to his chest. But as they sat in the waiting room, that thought never entered his mind as he felt the wetness of her tears on his chest. He heard the sniffle in every breath she took from all the tears she had shed. It was a Wednesday, Danny's only weeknight with Grace. Though Rachel had dropped her off at school, Danny was to pick her up that afternoon. Steve had gone instead. Rachel would be in Maui until Thursday evening. Just like with the Sarin incident, she was all too trusting of her Uncle Steve's abilities to fix her Danno. However, as she began to notice the fear in everyone's eyes, she too began to worry for her father. Steve did his best to comfort her, but he was struggling himself. Danny had told him never to lie to his Gracie, but how could he explain what had happened to Danny in a way she would understand? He had tried the simple "Danno's been in an accident," but she had been persistent. Like her father, she investigated until she discovered the whole truth. When Steve had finally explained to her part of what he'd seen, she had cried for two hours straight before hiccupping herself to sleep in Steve's arms. Even as she rested, a single tear tracked down her face. As he gently wiped it away, Steve pulled her closer, as if his arms could protect her from the reality of the day. She cuddled closer to him and his heart clenched. He had always marveled at her, but now he got a taste of what Danny felt every time he saw her. So sweet and innocent, it broke his heart to see the puffiness around her eyes. He held her close and stroked her soft hair, silently promising Danny that he would watch out for her…_just until you're on your feet again, partner._ Chin and Kono were sitting across from him. Chin had his face buried in a magazine, but Steve new he wasn't really reading it. Kono was staring into her lukewarm coffee, as if it held the answers she sought. When the doctor came out, Steve instinctively covered Grace's ears, even though he knew she was soundly asleep. Sensing that it was best not to wake the little girl, the doctor pulled up a chair next to them and spoke quietly.

"I assume you're here for Mr. Williams, yes?" he asked.

"Danny." Steve corrected. The doctor nodded.

"I'm Dr. Rybeck, I've been in charge of Mr.-Danny's care since he was brought in."

"How is he?" Kono asked.

"He's stable. It was touch and go for a while, but he made it through surgery alright."

"Surgery?" Chin asked.

"Yes, unfortunately his head injury resulted in cerebral edema and we were forced to perform a craniotomy to relieve the pressure." Steve took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"Is he going to make it?"

"I'm optimistic. However, the lasting effects remain to be seen. I've seen people walk away with no permanent damage, and I've seen them handicapped for life. I don't mean to scare you, but I want you to have the facts. In addition to his brain injury, the blood loss resulted in hypovolemic shock, compromising his system. He's slowly coming out of it, but he's very fragile at the moment. He is going to remain in the neck brace until we're sure that there is no unnoticed damage to his spine. We're going to keep him sedated while the swelling in his brain decreases. That could be up to a week." Steve nodded.

"Thank you."

"Of course. Now, I'm guessing you'd like to see him? We've cleaned him up, but it's your call whether or not to let her see him. I'm assuming he's her father." Steve nodded again.

"She'll find out sooner or later."

"Alright, then he's in room three-oh-four. Unfortunately, we can only allow one of you to stay with him through the night. I've taken the liberty of reserving a private room for you all to rest in nearby." They thanked Rybeck before leaving to find Danny. Once outside of his room, Steve stopped and gently woke Grace. As she blinked into awareness, Steve could see the moment she remembered what had happened.

"Where's Danno?" she asked.

"We're going to go see him right now, okay? But Danno's not gonna look the same right now. He's pretty banged up." She nodded bravely as Steve set her on the ground. She took his large hand in her own tiny one and they walked in together. Steve had tried, but nothing could have prepared them for what they saw. The blood was gone, save for the dark spot that was soaking through the bandages on his head, but his face was a patchwork of black and blue. Butterfly bandages had been placed over the deeper cuts. His left eye looked so swollen he doubted Danny could've opened it and the right eye wasn't much better. His mouth was open slightly where the respirator had been inserted. The IVs in his arm led up to a few separate bags. One for blood, sedatives, pain medication, and heated saline to combat the shock. Danny's arms were also heavily bandaged. Grace's small hand tightened around his and more tears spilled from her eyes.

"Danno…" she whispered. Steve took her in his arms again, allowing her tears to soak through his shirt once more.

"He'll be okay, baby. Your Danno's stronger than anyone I've ever met." _Don't you make a liar out of me, Danny._ She nodded. They had been there for the allowed ten minutes and Rybeck was gently herding them out.

"Uncle Steve? Can…can I give Danno a kiss? He needs to know I'm here." She said quietly. Steve threw a glance at Rybeck, who nodded his agreement.

"Alright, kiddo. You have to be gentle, but I'm sure he would love that." Steve carried her to the bed and held her over Danny as she placed her lips on his less bruised cheek.

"I love you Danno." She whispered. Steve could feel tears sting his eyes and pulled grace close before she could see. She fell asleep again on the walk over to the private room. There were two beds and a pull out couch along with a small kitchen and bathroom. Steve laid her on the couch and tucked her in, kissing her forehead like he had seen Danny do so many times before. He felt a hand on his arm and turned to see Kono smiling at him sadly.

"Go. We don't think he should be alone either. We'll take care of Grace." Steve pulled his friends into a tight hug, then left for Danny's room.

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Just as Rybeck had said, it was exactly a week before they felt they could safely allow Danny to wake up. Grace was at home with Rachel again and Chin and Kono were seated beside Steve, waiting for Danny to open his eyes. Excitement as well as fear seemed to settle into the air. If there was brain damage, they'd know within hours of his return to consciousness. They passed the time in silence, not wanting to miss any signs of waking. The first movement from Danny in a week was a twitch in his left hand. A soft groan escaped his lips and Danny scrunched his eyes.

"That's it, buddy. Come on, open your eyes for us." Steve coached. Danny's left hand squeezed Steve's own enormous one harder as he struggled to part his lids. Slowly, they opened, the left eye slightly after the right one. He squinted up at his surroundings, trying to focus. As his gaze settled on Steve, his mouth began to work to form words, but he just couldn't seem to vocalize his thoughts. His confusion was mounting by the second. Finally, he stuttered out a single syllable.

"Wha'?" his voice was rough from disuse. Steve smiled.

"It's okay, Danny. You're in the hospital. You were in an accident, but you're okay now. The doctors on his way."

"A-acc…den'?" Danny slurred. Steve shard a worried glance with Chin and Kono.

"That's right, buddy." Steve squeezed Danny's hand again.

"G-g-grrraaccce?" Danny managed to force past his lips.

"She's okay man, just really worried about her Danno. She's at home with Rachel." Steve assured his partner.

"D-dan…no…" Danny whispered, tasting the word. "Me?" he asked.

"Yes, you're Danno." Steve smiled again, happy that Danny remembered that at least. Rybeck entered the room and smiled.

"Well, look who's up! It's good to see you awake Danny. I'm Dr. Rybeck, I've been treating you since you came in." he said, speaking slowly. "Now, we're just going to do a few tests to see how you are. I need you to do a few things for me. Think you can manage that?"

"Mmmmmhhhmmm." Danny replied.

"Good! First, can you tell me your name?"

"D-danny Will…iams."

"Alright, excellent. Now I need you to tell me the names of your three friends here." Danny screwed up his face as he thought.

"Ko…no, Ch-chin." Danny said with a lopsided smile.

"Very good, now who's this guy right here?" Rybeck asked, pointing to a nearly panicked Steve.

"Sup-per SEAL." Steve laughed.

"What's my name, Danny?"

"St-stevvve?" he nodded.

"Okay, you're doing great Danny. Now, I'm going to hold both of your hands and you're going to squeeze back as hard as you can…Alright, well done. How do you feel?"

"Head 'urts." Danny mumbled. Rybeck smiled, then depressed the button to dispense more pain killers. As soon as Danny fell asleep, Steve let his smile drop.

"Doc, what the hell's wrong with him?"

"Well, the crash injured the left side of his brain, which controls the muscles on the left side of his body. His left side was much weaker than his right, but that can be corrected with physical therapy."

"What about his speech?" Kono asked.

"His scans did show a bruise on Broca's area on the cerebral cortex, which control speech. I believe mentally he's going to be fine. Once the bruise fades and with a bit of speech therapy, he should be okay. He seemed to be able to form thoughts well enough." Rybeck smiled, then excused himself to look in on other patients. Steve squeezed Danny's hand.

"One step at a time, Danno."

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One Month Later

And it was. One step at a time, Danny made considerable progress. He could now speak with only the slightest slur in his voice and he only had trouble with a few of the more complex words. His therapist was confident that within a few months' time, even that would cease to be a problem. Steve would often find Danny in the hospital's rehab center, pushing himself harder than he probably should have.

"Danny, come on man. Enough is enough. This isn't going to happen overnight." Steve scolded gently, half carrying Danny over to a wheel chair. He found him jogging of all things on a treadmill set way too fast. This was surprising being that only two weeks ago, he could barely stand. When Steve had finally gotten him off the machine, he had all but collapsed from exhaustion.

"I know, it's just, I hate feeling useless." Danny replied breathlessly.

"You're not useless, but this is going to take time. Too much too soon could result in a setback." That seemed to shut Danny up. From then on, while his strength and balance continued to improve, his work outs were less strenuous.

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Three Months Later

"Just take a deep breath, Danny. You can do this."

"Thanks, Steve." Danny said, raising his gun and firing. The target came back with all twelve bullets in a tight group around the chest, some directly on top of each other. Mutters of approval came from the side as Duke stepped forward.

"Congratulations Danny. You passed." He said with a smile, placing a hand on Danny's shoulder and handing him his own gun back. After four months, the solid weight of his own Glock felt nice in his hand. He snugged it into his holster and thanked the old officer. Steve smiled and a clapped his partner on the back.

"I told ya you'd do fine! Hey, I've got something for you too." Steve said, his excitement barely contained. From his pocket, he fished out a shiny gold badge, with the number seven five seven six on it.

"I…Steve, wow. Thank you."

"You earned it, Danny."

"I couldn't have don't it without you, you know." Danny said, ever the humble man.

"We did it together. One step at a time. Now, Chin, Kono, and pretty much all of HPD is waiting at Side Street for us." Steve said and with a wink, snatched Danny's keys from his hand. Danny sighed, slid into the passenger seat, taking extra care to remember his seatbelt.

**Well, there it is! Hope you guys liked it and I will update my other story soon. Sorry for any spelling and grammar errors, Mitch and I have an appointment to get to to look at places to hold our wedding reception, so I don't have time to read it over. Oh, and by the way, Mitch and I have a challenge for you.**

**Write something. Anything. I get so many reviews and PMs saying how they like what I write, but don't think that they'd ever be able to do it. Well I think you can! I started out a longtime fan of all these great writers on here and now I've published what, like almost thirty stories? Just try your hand at it. It's not for everyone, but you'll never know until you try. Don't let a lack of review or even a bad review get you down. Give it a chance. I can't wait to see where you all go with this.**


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